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[Music]
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[Applause]
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we're heading east along the coast of
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the Black Sea with the Caucasus
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Mountains rising up in the distance
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ahead of us our first border crossing
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into the former Soviet republic of
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Georgia
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welcome to the Silk Road adventure
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Georgia is relatively unknown in the
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West we feel like we're going to a place
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for a few of our countrymen ever visit
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in fact in 2004 the country saw fewer
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than 10,000 international tourists for
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the entire year known for its scenic
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beauty legendary wine and generous
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hospitality Georgia belongs neither to
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Europe nor Asia coming over to Georgia
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you know it's been a very turbulent the
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last two three years there but it solved
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itself it's no very peaceful it's nice
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coming to Tbilisi it's such a cultural
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center again and it's just so different
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people as we migrate East
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today we are in the southwestern part of
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Georgia and this region is called a
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general region and has a population of a
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three hundred seventy nine thousand the
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town where we are now it is called
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batumi and it is the capital of this
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agile region we are going to the cornea
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fortress and it is one of the oldest
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fortresses in this a general region in a
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dates from the 1718 centuries BC and
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from the Hellenistic time here was a not
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a village but town and Aziza fortress
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was a built mean little in preserves
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this apart and to protect it from the
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northern tribes and from 1920-21
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this area was a controlled by a Russian
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army by Russian troops Georgia gained
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its independence in 1991 the crumbling
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legacy of Soviet involvement is readily
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apparent in the Black Sea port of Batumi
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[Music]
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I have not been travelling through this
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part of the world at least five years I
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remember some of the countries being so
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there were blossom and now they can
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barely make their living especially
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Georgia it seems to me that they've
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turned into different people and they
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almost forgot whom they were just ten
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years ago and I know they will remember
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but they need some help and assistance I
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think just whoever it comes from but
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just need to need a help of to support
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the country's a little bit more well I
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was very afraid when I first came into
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Georgia because I saw all the roads in
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the cities having potholes and you know
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missing manhole covers and stuff like
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that well it's a step down on a ladder
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it it's a little bit of a memory I have
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from touring Russia and Siberia before
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when they have to they really have to
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start below zero to get over into the
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hundreds you know that it's the roads
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and houses I don't know if you can save
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some of the old houses or rip them down
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the people trying very hard and you can
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see they're friendly enough and the
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police help of tremendously it's not a
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police state like in the Ukraine it's
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it's it's nice but they have to overcome
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such a verbal
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that it is very difficult to do that in
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a year or two or even in a decade until
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recently police corruption in Georgia
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was epidemic it doesn't depend you need
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something wrong or not in any case but
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now it is in order everything is you
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know the so no corruption anymore
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earlier we had the policeman standing on
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the roads but now this system is
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abolished because we have new police
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cars corruption aside these are still
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hard times in Georgia young people they
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don't have enough money to buy their own
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house or to rent it because the salaries
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are Network - so they can't effort and
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even after marriages for example if boy
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is murdered if he gets married he lived
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with his own parents with his wife but
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sometimes they have money to rent a
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house or to to buy a new one before
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leaving Batumi helgi is interviewed by a
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local television station the best
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when they see Krypton the best face you
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know will show them good hospitality and
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if we leave with a good impression of
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your front here in Gori the birthplace
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of Joseph Stalin this is the last
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remaining statue of the former Soviet
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ruler that's just one of many ways of
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seeing how much things have changed
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since the breakup of the Soviet Union in
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order to make solid news in on time I
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went through a tunnel instead of going
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over and I got to the through the tunnel
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to the toll booth I was trying to get
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some money out and the three attendant
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says you American I said yes some
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American they said we love American go
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through free and pulled it up and aren't
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ripe fruit
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[Music]
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the capital of Georgia tably C is one of
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the most ancient cities in the Caucasus
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walking around the city it's possible to
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see the intricately carved wooden
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balconies which often appear in
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paintings of the city
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[Applause]
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[Music]
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rising up from the river in the heart of
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the old city the narikala fortress dates
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from the fourth century
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[Applause]
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[Music]
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yesterday we were at the fortress the
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city the old city fortress in Tbilisi
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and we were climbing around the walls
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the old fortress walls and there's a
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bell tower on top and Hans had rung the
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bell and there is a local lady an older
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lady I won't say what Hans called her
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she was like really irate that we were
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reading the Bell it was like yelling and
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screaming at us and freely animated
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about that we shouldn't be doing that
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but and then as soon as we came down off
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the bell she was like wanting money and
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being nice and gentle and stuff it's
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just a really contrast there's kind of
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funny baby laugh
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unlike the other countries of the Silk
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Road Georgia is a Christian country the
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method each of the Virgin dates from the
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13th century
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[Music]
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[Music]
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rooster Valley Avenue is the main street
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of Tbilisi as a bridge between Europe
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and Asia the culture here is a mixture
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of both
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despite the scarcity of Western tourism
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in Georgia one very important American
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just passed through to Belize see a few
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days ago an evidence of his visit is
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everywhere in the capital George Bush's
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speech and Freedom Square made
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international headlines when somebody in
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the crowd threw a grenade at the podium
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fortunately for the president it didn't
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go off our own reception for the
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Georgians was an over-the-top display of
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their legendary hospitality as we were
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treated to a royal feast and no small
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amount of their indigenous wine later in
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the hotel the journey turns ominous when
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we hear news of violence in Uzbekistan
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well we are here in Tbilisi right now
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and I've been watching CNN and it's
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probably the worst thing you can do
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because you get very focused on the
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latest news and in Uzbekistan right now
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there's been an uprising in the
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southeastern corner in rgg on and it's
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very ugly when you look at the news and
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I don't want to don't play what's going
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on but of course I'm a little nervous
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that that's gonna factor what you
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because if they cross the border to
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respect its own even though we are not
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going through this troubled area that
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would be I really don't know the answer
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to what the outcome of our cheer will be
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at that point
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with the latest news from Uzbekistan it
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was a little disconcerting to hear
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sirens and see the arrival of so many
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vehicles right outside our hotel in
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tably see what's going on why are there
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so many ambulances are they preparing
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for a demonstration here now that the
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American delegation is left its Moscow's
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turn to court the favor of tably see and
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win influence in the capital these shiny
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new ambulances are designed to do just
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that
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we're all a gift from Russia and that
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they're just a present for Georgia and
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stuck my head in them and they're like
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they smell brand-new and I only have
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like ten kilometers on them pretty
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awesome little rigs trying to figure out
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how I can get one myself
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[Applause]
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it's a long ride each day and it's
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sometimes hard sometimes it's cold and
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you know you sit on the feet so you know
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to keep on going and it's a mental right
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you have to be totally aware of your
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surroundings because the traffic
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patterns are different here than they
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are on the street so it's a challenge in
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Georgia the traffic was just crazy it's
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like there's no rules and people cross
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the center line and come at your head on
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and things like that
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it's those are things that are hard to
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deal with no it's not it's not easy it's
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not easy way to travel but it's a good
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way to travel because it really does it
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really immerses you in if you fall
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behind I've seen it before then you have
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double the riding to do the next day to
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catch up but you know that's part of the
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challenge you know this is the kind of
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an adventure ride it's not a luxury to
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overuse it on in the big cushion is here
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and being chauffeured around I mean you
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lose some weight too you know that's
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kind of cool
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[Applause]
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[Music]
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[Applause]
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[Music]
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went today but beautiful country really
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nice country road a whole tree line
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oh nice and green fertile looks fertile
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look like they grow a lot here so what
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the poor just seen some more of the
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country lots of animals no pigs the pigs
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I think are gone until China but sheep
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goats and cattle
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[Music]
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cute dogs on the road didn't want to
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chase you out of the way from the
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livestock as long as you don't slow down
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or stop I think you're fine they just
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want to make sure you keep going
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that baby up I'm trying to warm up
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that's what I'm what's happening over
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here kind of a cold wet right this
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morning it's tradition to offer tea to
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the guests or somebody's first question
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is would you like tea it's very
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important that like like cigarette like
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it's our tradition to offer our guests
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but you see special form of this cup
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this will call this cup our model our
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model our mood in in other body language
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mean means pair here because this form
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look like here for such a small country
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Azerbaijan contains a wealth of natural
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splendor in fact the small country
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contains nine different climatic zones
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riding motorcycles over this misty pass
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is one particularly nerve-wracking way
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to experience this so but what goes up
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must come down and we soon arrived at
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another historic Silk Road caravanserai
275
00:15:57,310 --> 00:16:03,700
in the small village of Sheppard one of
276
00:16:03,700 --> 00:16:05,500
the remaining links to Shakey's rich
277
00:16:05,500 --> 00:16:08,170
past is the stone caravanserai building
278
00:16:08,170 --> 00:16:12,610
one of five the city once boasted this
279
00:16:12,610 --> 00:16:15,100
old in the Silk Road still accommodates
280
00:16:15,100 --> 00:16:17,680
travelers today with rooms on an upper
281
00:16:17,680 --> 00:16:20,510
floor it overlooks an inner courtyard
282
00:16:20,510 --> 00:16:23,659
[Music]
283
00:16:27,900 --> 00:16:30,470
[Music]
284
00:16:30,470 --> 00:16:33,660
in the evening the locals refused to let
285
00:16:33,660 --> 00:16:35,730
us rest and insist on sharing a
286
00:16:35,730 --> 00:16:38,190
bullet-shaped bottle of vodka
287
00:16:38,190 --> 00:16:41,259
[Music]
288
00:16:42,620 --> 00:16:47,160
[Laughter]
289
00:16:49,270 --> 00:16:52,340
[Music]
290
00:16:52,340 --> 00:16:56,550
[Laughter]
291
00:16:57,010 --> 00:17:11,789
[Music]
292
00:17:12,400 --> 00:17:14,919
I've been surprised by how friendly
293
00:17:14,919 --> 00:17:18,010
people have been I mean I got tired of
294
00:17:18,010 --> 00:17:19,029
waving at people
295
00:17:19,029 --> 00:17:22,209
I mean azar by Jean I'm riding one
296
00:17:22,209 --> 00:17:25,140
handed all day
297
00:17:30,710 --> 00:17:40,670
[Music]
298
00:17:40,670 --> 00:17:43,130
leaving Shecky behind we set out for
299
00:17:43,130 --> 00:17:45,230
baku through the foothills of the
300
00:17:45,230 --> 00:17:47,990
caucasus mountains and a landscape that
301
00:17:47,990 --> 00:17:51,820
rapidly becomes a parched desert
302
00:17:52,840 --> 00:18:02,729
[Music]
303
00:18:06,640 --> 00:18:10,720
for at least 2,500 years oil has come
304
00:18:10,720 --> 00:18:12,760
out of the ground near Baku to be
305
00:18:12,760 --> 00:18:15,820
exported around the world the world's
306
00:18:15,820 --> 00:18:17,830
first deep oil well was drilled here in
307
00:18:17,830 --> 00:18:23,170
1884 by 1913 there were 3,500 wells in
308
00:18:23,170 --> 00:18:25,600
Baku transforming the city into a
309
00:18:25,600 --> 00:18:29,559
cosmopolitan industrial center today a
310
00:18:29,559 --> 00:18:33,070
lot of foreign companies a lot of
311
00:18:33,070 --> 00:18:36,010
foreign to the biggest foreign company
312
00:18:36,010 --> 00:18:42,419
the BP and also Ramco total mcdermott
313
00:18:42,419 --> 00:18:47,980
some companies from USA some components
314
00:18:47,980 --> 00:18:52,330
from England even noble brothers come
315
00:18:52,330 --> 00:18:55,929
here and work came here in Azerbaijan
316
00:18:55,929 --> 00:18:57,669
and works in Azerbaijan
317
00:18:57,669 --> 00:19:01,960
they had office here and good business
318
00:19:01,960 --> 00:19:04,480
would business noble brothers they had
319
00:19:04,480 --> 00:19:06,580
they had good business another budget
320
00:19:06,580 --> 00:19:09,429
just to put it in perspective at the
321
00:19:09,429 --> 00:19:15,150
turn of the 20th century in 1904 to 1910
322
00:19:15,150 --> 00:19:18,370
this is where the Rothschilds and the
323
00:19:18,370 --> 00:19:21,480
nobles made their fortune in Azerbaijan
324
00:19:21,480 --> 00:19:25,840
and in those days it provided Baku
325
00:19:25,840 --> 00:19:28,510
provided 40 percent of the world's oil
326
00:19:28,510 --> 00:19:29,710
supply
327
00:19:29,710 --> 00:19:32,650
so these BP have just put in a new
328
00:19:32,650 --> 00:19:34,750
pipeline that they're busy filling at
329
00:19:34,750 --> 00:19:37,059
the moment to take oil from the Caspian
330
00:19:37,059 --> 00:19:38,890
out here all the way to the
331
00:19:38,890 --> 00:19:42,179
Mediterranean through Georgia and Turkey
332
00:19:42,179 --> 00:19:45,100
sixteen hundred kilometres of pipeline
333
00:19:45,100 --> 00:19:48,970
it's gonna take four months to fill this
334
00:19:48,970 --> 00:19:52,809
pipeline ten million barrels of oil so
335
00:19:52,809 --> 00:19:54,580
is it going to be important for
336
00:19:54,580 --> 00:19:56,740
Azerbaijan this mile
337
00:19:56,740 --> 00:19:59,649
that is yes it's a country gonna change
338
00:19:59,649 --> 00:20:03,279
yes other people good you know the
339
00:20:03,279 --> 00:20:06,039
people are friendly they're gonna reap
340
00:20:06,039 --> 00:20:10,710
the benefit of the oil which is good
341
00:20:11,820 --> 00:20:14,919
Azerbaijan enjoys a premier position on
342
00:20:14,919 --> 00:20:17,380
the shores of the Caspian Sea it's
343
00:20:17,380 --> 00:20:19,570
passed like that of neighbouring Georgia
344
00:20:19,570 --> 00:20:22,380
and Armenia has been a turbulent one
345
00:20:22,380 --> 00:20:25,029
various khanates ruled these lands prior
346
00:20:25,029 --> 00:20:28,000
to the 19th century Russians and the
347
00:20:28,000 --> 00:20:29,880
Soviets dominated the region until
348
00:20:29,880 --> 00:20:31,870
Azerbaijan declared itself an
349
00:20:31,870 --> 00:20:36,940
independent nation in 1991 although we
350
00:20:36,940 --> 00:20:38,740
are among the very few travelers who
351
00:20:38,740 --> 00:20:40,720
come here for the history and culture as
352
00:20:40,720 --> 00:20:43,600
opposed to the business of oil we will
353
00:20:43,600 --> 00:20:45,490
enjoy the comfortable improvements the
354
00:20:45,490 --> 00:20:47,980
city of Baku is invested in to cater to
355
00:20:47,980 --> 00:20:52,510
Western investors tourism now is just
356
00:20:52,510 --> 00:20:56,200
gross but not very important for us the
357
00:20:56,200 --> 00:20:58,450
first oil but to reason we know that
358
00:20:58,450 --> 00:21:02,640
tourism is very important also
359
00:21:05,910 --> 00:21:08,580
this is the oldest part of the city
360
00:21:08,580 --> 00:21:12,100
dating back to medieval times narrow
361
00:21:12,100 --> 00:21:14,230
curving streets are surmounted by a high
362
00:21:14,230 --> 00:21:17,220
rock wall from the 12th century the
363
00:21:17,220 --> 00:21:26,680
[Music]
364
00:21:27,000 --> 00:21:29,620
maiden tower overlooks the old quarter
365
00:21:29,620 --> 00:21:32,650
and the sea with a past routed in
366
00:21:32,650 --> 00:21:34,300
mystery it's one of the many
367
00:21:34,300 --> 00:21:37,210
architectural gems in the sector
368
00:21:37,210 --> 00:21:46,830
[Music]
369
00:21:46,830 --> 00:21:48,790
completing the first leg of our journey
370
00:21:48,790 --> 00:21:52,150
is cause for celebration and a couple of
371
00:21:52,150 --> 00:21:55,320
local GS riders join us for dinner
372
00:21:55,320 --> 00:21:57,940
Ben and Phyllis have been living in Baku
373
00:21:57,940 --> 00:22:02,140
for several years I love it here it's a
374
00:22:02,140 --> 00:22:03,760
it's not like real life somehow you
375
00:22:03,760 --> 00:22:05,530
don't have all the same problems and
376
00:22:05,530 --> 00:22:06,880
responsibilities as you have at home
377
00:22:06,880 --> 00:22:08,410
it's just like one big party actually
378
00:22:08,410 --> 00:22:11,020
Ben's worry I'm not working so for me
379
00:22:11,020 --> 00:22:12,640
it's like really nice there's quite a
380
00:22:12,640 --> 00:22:14,920
big expat community and we've got lots
381
00:22:14,920 --> 00:22:16,690
of friends here there's a lot of good
382
00:22:16,690 --> 00:22:18,430
western-style restaurant so you can eat
383
00:22:18,430 --> 00:22:21,430
as Abidjan food or you can eat Greek you
384
00:22:21,430 --> 00:22:24,580
know Indian Thai food just restaurant
385
00:22:24,580 --> 00:22:27,640
every nationality food you can eat I've
386
00:22:27,640 --> 00:22:29,560
got friends from all over the world here
387
00:22:29,560 --> 00:22:31,930
there's no problem yeah the people are
388
00:22:31,930 --> 00:22:33,970
friendly I'm sure you found in Turkey
389
00:22:33,970 --> 00:22:37,030
everybody was friendly Georgia people
390
00:22:37,030 --> 00:22:39,550
were friendly but at the moment probably
391
00:22:39,550 --> 00:22:41,680
your only problem might be those Becca
392
00:22:41,680 --> 00:22:45,960
stone but I'm sure you'll cope with that
393
00:22:45,960 --> 00:22:48,330
we'll find a way around what's the same
394
00:22:48,330 --> 00:22:48,750
[Music]
395
00:22:48,750 --> 00:22:53,290
[Laughter]
396
00:22:53,290 --> 00:22:59,570
[Music]
397
00:22:59,570 --> 00:23:02,539
with Central Asia looming ahead it's
398
00:23:02,539 --> 00:23:05,210
time to reflect on the past and how far
399
00:23:05,210 --> 00:23:07,460
we have already come on the Silk Road
400
00:23:07,460 --> 00:23:11,779
adventure it's amazing I thought the
401
00:23:11,779 --> 00:23:14,809
people in Turkey were perhaps the most
402
00:23:14,809 --> 00:23:18,399
cordial people I'd ever met and
403
00:23:18,399 --> 00:23:24,739
progressively I think they've become
404
00:23:24,739 --> 00:23:29,400
even nicer and not maybe immediately
405
00:23:29,400 --> 00:23:31,620
on first glance I hear they don't look
406
00:23:31,620 --> 00:23:33,960
at you with a smile right away with you
407
00:23:33,960 --> 00:23:36,000
at the moment you say something that you
408
00:23:36,000 --> 00:23:38,970
like engage them they're just that much
409
00:23:38,970 --> 00:23:41,850
more kind than them so I was about
410
00:23:41,850 --> 00:23:42,930
John's been really cool I mean
411
00:23:42,930 --> 00:23:45,110
unfortunately we came in through rain
412
00:23:45,110 --> 00:23:47,580
there's some brutal riding some tough
413
00:23:47,580 --> 00:23:48,270
roads
414
00:23:48,270 --> 00:23:50,340
it's really tough roads I think it's
415
00:23:50,340 --> 00:23:54,930
taking a toll on some of us but parents
416
00:23:54,930 --> 00:23:58,410
incredible again just to start contrast
417
00:23:58,410 --> 00:23:59,910
we'll be in the Georgia movie in
418
00:23:59,910 --> 00:24:02,070
Azerbaijan and say contrasts are getting
419
00:24:02,070 --> 00:24:03,150
even harsher
420
00:24:03,150 --> 00:24:06,080
but for me it's more incredible that way
421
00:24:06,080 --> 00:24:08,940
all right say guy I hate I hate to say
422
00:24:08,940 --> 00:24:10,470
it and it's like I almost want to just
423
00:24:10,470 --> 00:24:12,240
push the fast-forward button but you
424
00:24:12,240 --> 00:24:14,309
don't want this is a good just one I
425
00:24:14,309 --> 00:24:16,710
want to like engage all of it I want to
426
00:24:16,710 --> 00:24:20,809
like use again it all happen so
427
00:24:21,430 --> 00:24:24,489
[Music]
428
00:24:26,160 --> 00:24:28,740
it's gonna be interesting the adventure
429
00:24:28,740 --> 00:24:35,160
will continue the highlights of the Silk
430
00:24:35,160 --> 00:24:38,400
Road tour I think for myself is going to
431
00:24:38,400 --> 00:24:41,640
be getting to Turkmenistan it's
432
00:24:41,640 --> 00:24:44,130
definitely it's been a bottleneck in
433
00:24:44,130 --> 00:24:47,160
this whole project we have even rejected
434
00:24:47,160 --> 00:24:49,799
have had one of our participants
435
00:24:49,799 --> 00:24:51,600
rejected this year to go through
436
00:24:51,600 --> 00:24:53,370
Turkmenistan so we have to fly him
437
00:24:53,370 --> 00:24:57,120
around and our backup driver will take
438
00:24:57,120 --> 00:24:59,070
the bike but it's all these
439
00:24:59,070 --> 00:25:02,280
uncertainties in the global duster that
440
00:25:02,280 --> 00:25:06,559
makes it unique I don't know of anybody
441
00:25:06,559 --> 00:25:09,570
during the entire Silk Road in 53 days
442
00:25:09,570 --> 00:25:14,549
on motorcycles except road riders so I
443
00:25:14,549 --> 00:25:15,990
think it's evident as you go on this
444
00:25:15,990 --> 00:25:20,070
adventure that you are kind of charting
445
00:25:20,070 --> 00:25:24,030
a new path for them place 15 years or so
446
00:25:24,030 --> 00:25:26,159
just hasn't been that much travel all
447
00:25:26,159 --> 00:25:28,880
the way through here
448
00:25:36,110 --> 00:25:39,799
leaving Baku in Azerbaijan go crossing
449
00:25:39,799 --> 00:25:41,960
the Caspian Sea it's not the easy fit
450
00:25:41,960 --> 00:25:43,700
because it's no ferry there you cannot
451
00:25:43,700 --> 00:25:45,200
just go up and say yeah we're like
452
00:25:45,200 --> 00:25:48,049
ticket for the ten o'clock ferry oh no
453
00:25:48,049 --> 00:25:50,570
we have to rent part of the ferry it's a
454
00:25:50,570 --> 00:25:52,370
lot of stuff going on in the background
455
00:25:52,370 --> 00:25:54,740
so we may be doing something that few
456
00:25:54,740 --> 00:25:57,409
people are doing in the post-soviet era
457
00:25:57,409 --> 00:25:59,480
and that's going across the Caspian so
458
00:25:59,480 --> 00:26:03,350
we are almost there no this signal here
459
00:26:03,350 --> 00:26:06,710
is the boat we are going to the straight
460
00:26:06,710 --> 00:26:12,039
here so it's going no 20 kilometer 19.9
461
00:26:12,039 --> 00:26:15,230
kilometres over and that means that he
462
00:26:15,230 --> 00:26:18,440
had fired up both engines we've been
463
00:26:18,440 --> 00:26:21,590
coming down the coast there and actually
464
00:26:21,590 --> 00:26:26,210
we have the turkmenbashi right in here
465
00:26:26,210 --> 00:26:28,639
but and the hotel should be right I can
466
00:26:28,639 --> 00:26:30,980
almost see the hotel and if the captain
467
00:26:30,980 --> 00:26:32,570
can go in there and pick us off on the
468
00:26:32,570 --> 00:26:34,340
beach that could be great but we do have
469
00:26:34,340 --> 00:26:36,320
to go through the Strait very narrow
470
00:26:36,320 --> 00:26:41,630
shallow straight into turkmenbashi it's
471
00:26:41,630 --> 00:26:43,460
fantastic to have one of these TPS is
472
00:26:43,460 --> 00:26:46,370
not only to navigate by motorcycle but
473
00:26:46,370 --> 00:26:49,190
you can have fun also and kind of keep
474
00:26:49,190 --> 00:26:53,570
an eye on what big dude the captain is
475
00:26:53,570 --> 00:26:55,730
doing well I'm figuring out right now
476
00:26:55,730 --> 00:26:58,039
that there were we're heading west
477
00:26:58,039 --> 00:26:59,969
instead of East
478
00:26:59,969 --> 00:27:02,609
hanging back where we came so kind of
479
00:27:02,609 --> 00:27:04,309
wondering what's going on weather
480
00:27:04,309 --> 00:27:07,889
decided that we can't fit through we've
481
00:27:07,889 --> 00:27:10,319
got to go around or what's going on go
482
00:27:10,319 --> 00:27:11,489
down to the bridge and see what we can
483
00:27:11,489 --> 00:27:13,619
find out there's a large oil tanker
484
00:27:13,619 --> 00:27:15,209
coming through the the shallow channel
485
00:27:15,209 --> 00:27:17,729
that we're going to go through if the
486
00:27:17,729 --> 00:27:20,279
channel is only 1.5 meters deep
487
00:27:20,279 --> 00:27:22,440
we'll miss the bottom by about five feet
488
00:27:22,440 --> 00:27:23,999
but there's a tanker coming from the
489
00:27:23,999 --> 00:27:25,859
other direction so we've had to turn
490
00:27:25,859 --> 00:27:27,690
back around and go out and do it too
491
00:27:27,690 --> 00:27:29,549
holding pattern until that tanker comes
492
00:27:29,549 --> 00:27:31,919
through the channel and then this is why
493
00:27:31,919 --> 00:27:33,449
we're making this large sweet bean turn
494
00:27:33,449 --> 00:27:35,549
we are actually heading back west two
495
00:27:35,549 --> 00:27:37,559
minutes ago and now we're swinging south
496
00:27:37,559 --> 00:27:39,359
and then heading back east and then
497
00:27:39,359 --> 00:27:41,489
we'll go through the channel so we are
498
00:27:41,489 --> 00:27:44,639
not lost we are not well I'm confident
499
00:27:44,639 --> 00:27:46,769
this is okay the boats not lost we
500
00:27:46,769 --> 00:27:51,889
however another story
501
00:27:53,190 --> 00:27:54,870
pretty exciting we're watching death
502
00:27:54,870 --> 00:27:57,060
gage over there it is a 1.6 meters of
503
00:27:57,060 --> 00:27:59,570
water underneath the bottom of this ship
504
00:27:59,570 --> 00:28:02,340
which is only about what five feet five
505
00:28:02,340 --> 00:28:05,220
feet of water so well yeah their living
506
00:28:05,220 --> 00:28:07,620
is have full reign of the instruments in
507
00:28:07,620 --> 00:28:09,510
there of course when John tried to touch
508
00:28:09,510 --> 00:28:12,440
something they slap his hand
509
00:28:17,210 --> 00:28:19,830
great fun one of them even speaks some a
510
00:28:19,830 --> 00:28:21,450
little bit of English which is kind of
511
00:28:21,450 --> 00:28:24,180
nice I and Buffy
512
00:28:24,180 --> 00:28:38,730
short bushy 32 miles Turkmenbashi and go
513
00:28:38,730 --> 00:28:41,360
through customs and that could take
514
00:28:41,360 --> 00:28:44,640
hours but I'm not really afraid or
515
00:28:44,640 --> 00:28:45,960
anything of that it's just you know just
516
00:28:45,960 --> 00:28:48,720
another thing you deal with and but I
517
00:28:48,720 --> 00:28:50,580
mean you hear that there's all the rooms
518
00:28:50,580 --> 00:28:53,940
are bugged and listening devices and
519
00:28:53,940 --> 00:28:55,800
people follow you around and everything
520
00:28:55,800 --> 00:28:59,070
and I'm sure that's probably true the
521
00:28:59,070 --> 00:29:02,190
fact that this there are things to
522
00:29:02,190 --> 00:29:04,320
overcome on this trip like anything in
523
00:29:04,320 --> 00:29:06,960
life makes it that much sweeter the fact
524
00:29:06,960 --> 00:29:08,550
that yeah in the middle of the night
525
00:29:08,550 --> 00:29:10,950
we're sitting at the customs trying to
526
00:29:10,950 --> 00:29:12,930
get into Turkmenistan and wondering what
527
00:29:12,930 --> 00:29:14,370
the hell is this place anyway
528
00:29:14,370 --> 00:29:15,660
you know and it's 2:00 in the morning
529
00:29:15,660 --> 00:29:17,580
and how many workforce we have to fill
530
00:29:17,580 --> 00:29:19,770
out that's part of what makes it an
531
00:29:19,770 --> 00:29:24,090
adventure with the rocky shores of
532
00:29:24,090 --> 00:29:26,970
Turkmenistan in the distance the 26 hour
533
00:29:26,970 --> 00:29:29,250
ride across the Caspian Sea is almost
534
00:29:29,250 --> 00:29:31,560
complete and we will soon be in a
535
00:29:31,560 --> 00:29:34,050
country known as the North Korea of
536
00:29:34,050 --> 00:29:41,310
Central Asia after a long night of
537
00:29:41,310 --> 00:29:43,860
customs procedures were released to this
538
00:29:43,860 --> 00:29:45,740
posh hotel in turkmenbashi
539
00:29:45,740 --> 00:29:48,540
the city is named after the president of
540
00:29:48,540 --> 00:29:50,850
Turkmenistan who chose this name for
541
00:29:50,850 --> 00:29:53,990
himself when he came to power
542
00:29:58,490 --> 00:30:01,740
this hotel is perhaps the most opulent
543
00:30:01,740 --> 00:30:04,500
in the entire country with both outdoor
544
00:30:04,500 --> 00:30:07,650
and indoor pools too bad we don't have
545
00:30:07,650 --> 00:30:09,050
any time to enjoy it
546
00:30:09,050 --> 00:30:10,610
[Music]
547
00:30:10,610 --> 00:30:13,380
leaving the plush air-conditioned hotel
548
00:30:13,380 --> 00:30:15,720
for the searing heat of the desert we
549
00:30:15,720 --> 00:30:17,640
head out for our first day of riding in
550
00:30:17,640 --> 00:30:20,180
Central Asia
551
00:30:20,340 --> 00:30:26,559
[Music]
552
00:30:27,740 --> 00:30:30,660
only a few miles into our travels we
553
00:30:30,660 --> 00:30:32,730
stop to take photos of the first camels
554
00:30:32,730 --> 00:30:35,940
we've seen on the Silk Road adventure in
555
00:30:35,940 --> 00:30:37,890
the distance a young camel herder
556
00:30:37,890 --> 00:30:40,530
watches us from a hill when he has seen
557
00:30:40,530 --> 00:30:42,810
enough he dentures down to round up his
558
00:30:42,810 --> 00:30:45,060
herd undoubtedly surprised by our
559
00:30:45,060 --> 00:30:55,770
interest in his animals as much as 90%
560
00:30:55,770 --> 00:30:58,080
of the country is covered with a CARICOM
561
00:30:58,080 --> 00:31:01,460
desert a vast wasteland of sand and bush
562
00:31:01,460 --> 00:31:04,440
this is the hottest desert in Central
563
00:31:04,440 --> 00:31:07,140
Asia and few people attempt to eke out a
564
00:31:07,140 --> 00:31:16,980
living in such desolation how much does
565
00:31:16,980 --> 00:31:19,260
a full tank constant did it cost you I
566
00:31:19,260 --> 00:31:26,390
think it's gonna cost me around 60 cents
567
00:31:27,020 --> 00:31:30,240
the currency here is the Monnett the
568
00:31:30,240 --> 00:31:32,070
best exchange rate is always on the
569
00:31:32,070 --> 00:31:34,470
black market and this money changers
570
00:31:34,470 --> 00:31:37,790
sold gas changed money and gave us tea
571
00:31:37,790 --> 00:31:41,040
even here a little negotiation goes a
572
00:31:41,040 --> 00:31:43,610
long way
573
00:31:45,720 --> 00:31:51,570
[Laughter]
574
00:32:00,370 --> 00:32:06,470
[Laughter]
575
00:32:10,220 --> 00:32:19,940
[Laughter]
576
00:32:20,720 --> 00:32:23,490
before we left our host offered to
577
00:32:23,490 --> 00:32:27,480
butcher one of his goats for us so how
578
00:32:27,480 --> 00:32:36,690
much does it cost go in I can tell you
579
00:32:36,690 --> 00:32:41,190
how they go for the our ox and bucks can
580
00:32:41,190 --> 00:32:43,940
we get one by the hour
581
00:32:47,740 --> 00:32:50,809
[Music]
582
00:32:51,410 --> 00:32:55,770
you know the physicality wise and just
583
00:32:55,770 --> 00:32:59,520
enduring the sore backs or the first few
584
00:32:59,520 --> 00:33:02,010
weeks my throttle hand arm was getting
585
00:33:02,010 --> 00:33:04,170
really cramped up that's stuff you just
586
00:33:04,170 --> 00:33:06,030
endure you know it's it's funny I think
587
00:33:06,030 --> 00:33:08,280
there'll be times where I'll be riding
588
00:33:08,280 --> 00:33:10,830
and you know that there's something like
589
00:33:10,830 --> 00:33:13,740
you know wrong or something's like you
590
00:33:13,740 --> 00:33:15,450
slept on your back lawn or something you
591
00:33:15,450 --> 00:33:16,770
just forget about it you just like you
592
00:33:16,770 --> 00:33:19,230
just endure it and deal with it and I
593
00:33:19,230 --> 00:33:20,430
think the the kind of the breed of
594
00:33:20,430 --> 00:33:21,600
people that we are is like that's what
595
00:33:21,600 --> 00:33:23,100
you do if you've got to be cut on your
596
00:33:23,100 --> 00:33:24,840
foot in her second [ __ ] I'm gonna start
597
00:33:24,840 --> 00:33:27,440
riding I just got a ride in tears
598
00:33:27,440 --> 00:33:31,140
the frustrating days hot tired and
599
00:33:31,140 --> 00:33:33,809
hungry and there's been days where I
600
00:33:33,809 --> 00:33:34,860
just want to go home
601
00:33:34,860 --> 00:33:36,570
and I usually realize because I need to
602
00:33:36,570 --> 00:33:38,700
eat or take a nap and it goes away I
603
00:33:38,700 --> 00:33:40,710
mean I'm really happy to be here but I
604
00:33:40,710 --> 00:33:42,000
do realize that that's the part that
605
00:33:42,000 --> 00:33:44,250
nobody talks about because we don't want
606
00:33:44,250 --> 00:33:45,510
to seem ungrateful to have this amazing
607
00:33:45,510 --> 00:33:46,910
opportunity
608
00:33:46,910 --> 00:33:48,870
sort of like we always have to put up
609
00:33:48,870 --> 00:33:51,450
the face and everything is great and it
610
00:33:51,450 --> 00:33:53,250
is a great trip but there are certainly
611
00:33:53,250 --> 00:33:55,700
moments
612
00:33:58,940 --> 00:34:02,059
[Music]
613
00:34:08,719 --> 00:34:12,418
Aska bot is situated on the Great Silk
614
00:34:12,418 --> 00:34:16,639
Road we started the first century AC and
615
00:34:16,639 --> 00:34:20,399
it was a small fortress since that time
616
00:34:20,399 --> 00:34:22,260
all the trade routes and the caravans
617
00:34:22,260 --> 00:34:25,949
were passing by through this this small
618
00:34:25,949 --> 00:34:29,730
fortress and then all the trades from
619
00:34:29,730 --> 00:34:31,560
Russia to China it was like a linking
620
00:34:31,560 --> 00:34:35,418
like a linking place for travelers of
621
00:34:35,418 --> 00:34:37,199
east and west
622
00:34:37,199 --> 00:34:40,350
now as many people as many guests and
623
00:34:40,350 --> 00:34:43,050
tourists say they you know they see that
624
00:34:43,050 --> 00:34:46,619
our marvelous city it's its beauty its
625
00:34:46,619 --> 00:34:50,489
white and we now we used to say oscarbot
626
00:34:50,489 --> 00:34:53,940
is like it's a marble city oh I'd like
627
00:34:53,940 --> 00:34:56,668
to manage that a lot I could fill the 35
628
00:34:56,668 --> 00:35:00,390
litre tank for 50 cents which was a lot
629
00:35:00,390 --> 00:35:01,650
more than other people were spending but
630
00:35:01,650 --> 00:35:03,930
compared to the $8 a gallon
631
00:35:03,930 --> 00:35:08,400
I put almost a 90 lira worth like $85
632
00:35:08,400 --> 00:35:10,590
worth of gas into the tank we first got
633
00:35:10,590 --> 00:35:13,770
it out of the container I think there's
634
00:35:13,770 --> 00:35:16,220
a political difference between
635
00:35:16,220 --> 00:35:18,290
Turkmenistan where you have this
636
00:35:18,290 --> 00:35:21,540
egomaniac this megalomaniac which on
637
00:35:21,540 --> 00:35:23,760
every coin every dollar bill every
638
00:35:23,760 --> 00:35:27,510
building if he's not in gold leaf it's a
639
00:35:27,510 --> 00:35:29,340
big picture of him up there he thinks
640
00:35:29,340 --> 00:35:31,500
very highly of himself and yet at the
641
00:35:31,500 --> 00:35:33,540
same time on the flip side of that it
642
00:35:33,540 --> 00:35:36,000
was probably I forgot was probably one
643
00:35:36,000 --> 00:35:38,609
of the most beautiful cities this city
644
00:35:38,609 --> 00:35:41,640
of marble leaming palaces and fountains
645
00:35:41,640 --> 00:35:43,560
in the middle of the desert is the
646
00:35:43,560 --> 00:35:46,050
creation of one man sapper Meera
647
00:35:46,050 --> 00:35:48,570
turkmenbashi the self-proclaimed father
648
00:35:48,570 --> 00:35:51,270
of all Turkmen in the middle of the
649
00:35:51,270 --> 00:35:54,060
capital the arch of neutrality one of
650
00:35:54,060 --> 00:35:55,920
dozens of monuments he has erected in
651
00:35:55,920 --> 00:35:58,460
honor of himself
652
00:35:59,870 --> 00:36:04,500
there's even a monument for his book we
653
00:36:04,500 --> 00:36:06,480
consider these books his books as a
654
00:36:06,480 --> 00:36:09,900
second Koran so like a very sacred book
655
00:36:09,900 --> 00:36:13,050
for our nation other countries come and
656
00:36:13,050 --> 00:36:17,250
like appreciate it so we get a lot we
657
00:36:17,250 --> 00:36:19,350
learned a lot and we this is a guidance
658
00:36:19,350 --> 00:36:22,130
for us so we just follow this book and
659
00:36:22,130 --> 00:36:25,560
under his guidance we hope this we call
660
00:36:25,560 --> 00:36:28,950
this 21st century as a 21st century is a
661
00:36:28,950 --> 00:36:32,520
golden century of Turkmen so as you have
662
00:36:32,520 --> 00:36:35,570
to come come down to ask about to just
663
00:36:35,570 --> 00:36:39,360
realize it and like as you have a saying
664
00:36:39,360 --> 00:36:41,880
you know wake up and smell the coffee so
665
00:36:41,880 --> 00:36:43,530
you just come in here and see it
666
00:36:43,530 --> 00:36:47,250
yourself city is very nice and many
667
00:36:47,250 --> 00:36:49,410
people amazed by looking at the greens
668
00:36:49,410 --> 00:36:53,400
and plantation around it so traditional
669
00:36:53,400 --> 00:36:55,380
Turkmen people are very hospitable so
670
00:36:55,380 --> 00:36:57,030
you can see people on the on the streets
671
00:36:57,030 --> 00:36:59,130
you know when you walk and they have all
672
00:36:59,130 --> 00:37:02,780
friendly they strive to help assist and
673
00:37:02,780 --> 00:37:05,700
it's in our traditional way and coming
674
00:37:05,700 --> 00:37:09,840
from Asian times our hospitality and we
675
00:37:09,840 --> 00:37:11,910
are welcome to everybody coming here so
676
00:37:11,910 --> 00:37:15,990
just offer our assistance so that's a
677
00:37:15,990 --> 00:37:18,180
little bit about ask apart it's just a
678
00:37:18,180 --> 00:37:20,910
whole nother world occupy its kind I
679
00:37:20,910 --> 00:37:22,710
don't know how you can explain it to
680
00:37:22,710 --> 00:37:24,780
somebody without without actually taking
681
00:37:24,780 --> 00:37:27,230
in there and just showing it it's just
682
00:37:27,230 --> 00:37:30,230
unbelievable
683
00:37:34,350 --> 00:37:37,090
we get an early start today to
684
00:37:37,090 --> 00:37:39,580
experience the oriental bazaar one of
685
00:37:39,580 --> 00:37:41,410
the most vibrant and largest open
686
00:37:41,410 --> 00:37:47,710
markets in Central Asia one thing is
687
00:37:47,710 --> 00:37:52,390
which ashgabat is very different in like
688
00:37:52,390 --> 00:37:56,100
indistinct is Oscar but he has a big
689
00:37:56,100 --> 00:37:58,750
outside sunday market we call it push
690
00:37:58,750 --> 00:38:00,670
market because of people it's very
691
00:38:00,670 --> 00:38:05,020
crowded it's very you know big now it's
692
00:38:05,020 --> 00:38:09,070
a it has sections so you can find their
693
00:38:09,070 --> 00:38:11,950
animal section so where the livestock
694
00:38:11,950 --> 00:38:16,990
poultry camel and cows and are displayed
695
00:38:16,990 --> 00:38:20,680
so for the sale and there are there is
696
00:38:20,680 --> 00:38:23,740
another section called the carpet and
697
00:38:23,740 --> 00:38:26,110
ethnographic section so then you can
698
00:38:26,110 --> 00:38:30,160
find everything from the carpet from the
699
00:38:30,160 --> 00:38:32,920
carpets to you know other pieces of art
700
00:38:32,920 --> 00:38:37,840
of national are made in Turkmenistan and
701
00:38:37,840 --> 00:38:44,080
we beside this the market now I mean to
702
00:38:44,080 --> 00:38:46,390
these days recently the market works you
703
00:38:46,390 --> 00:38:48,790
know even three days a week Thursday
704
00:38:48,790 --> 00:38:51,010
Saturday Sunday so it's not far from the
705
00:38:51,010 --> 00:38:54,780
city it's like a half an hour drive and
706
00:38:54,780 --> 00:38:59,080
there is a good parking lot so people
707
00:38:59,080 --> 00:39:00,940
have opportunity there to bring their
708
00:39:00,940 --> 00:39:03,670
goods and products and like from the
709
00:39:03,670 --> 00:39:06,190
outside of the country from the rural
710
00:39:06,190 --> 00:39:09,700
from so and there is a good facility for
711
00:39:09,700 --> 00:39:12,280
them to sell it and you know for
712
00:39:12,280 --> 00:39:14,970
information in agriculture we have
713
00:39:14,970 --> 00:39:17,650
practically no pet no taxes from the
714
00:39:17,650 --> 00:39:20,140
government side it's it's open and it's
715
00:39:20,140 --> 00:39:22,630
made to make the private sector to
716
00:39:22,630 --> 00:39:25,720
develop so local farmers living on the
717
00:39:25,720 --> 00:39:28,180
skirts of a city they bring their goods
718
00:39:28,180 --> 00:39:30,730
and they pay only for the seat the way
719
00:39:30,730 --> 00:39:33,280
they say this and it's it's like 5000
720
00:39:33,280 --> 00:39:37,000
Menards per seat per day it's it's a $1
721
00:39:37,000 --> 00:39:39,810
by the state rate
722
00:40:01,640 --> 00:40:05,519
it's somewhat uncharted territory right
723
00:40:05,519 --> 00:40:08,219
now for a traveler but it's pretty
724
00:40:08,219 --> 00:40:10,679
self-evident as we go through that
725
00:40:10,679 --> 00:40:13,969
people are just stopping and looking
726
00:40:13,969 --> 00:40:16,679
they haven't seen many Westerners in
727
00:40:16,679 --> 00:40:19,769
some of these countries there are so
728
00:40:19,769 --> 00:40:23,369
many strange spaces that we go that like
729
00:40:23,369 --> 00:40:25,739
took menaced on nobody go there I don't
730
00:40:25,739 --> 00:40:27,659
know about any organized motorcycle
731
00:40:27,659 --> 00:40:29,519
groups that ever went through there and
732
00:40:29,519 --> 00:40:31,849
being a photographer this is going to be
733
00:40:31,849 --> 00:40:34,890
armed on there no film this time it's
734
00:40:34,890 --> 00:40:36,839
all digital but I'm gonna take gigabyte
735
00:40:36,839 --> 00:40:39,709
after gigabyte
736
00:40:41,680 --> 00:40:44,860
[Music]
737
00:40:45,000 --> 00:40:50,270
[Laughter]
738
00:40:50,900 --> 00:40:59,400
near intently me American tourist salaam
739
00:40:59,400 --> 00:41:03,990
elector Alabama with motorcyclist mondo
740
00:41:03,990 --> 00:41:05,640
the
741
00:41:05,640 --> 00:41:10,440
Judaism Turkey what Georgia Azerbaijan
742
00:41:10,440 --> 00:41:13,980
it's great to be able to travel the old
743
00:41:13,980 --> 00:41:17,339
Silk Road route but I think the biggest
744
00:41:17,339 --> 00:41:19,499
part of it for me was being able to
745
00:41:19,499 --> 00:41:24,329
travel through countries that are new
746
00:41:24,329 --> 00:41:28,440
and you you you don't understand these
747
00:41:28,440 --> 00:41:29,849
countries you don't know anything about
748
00:41:29,849 --> 00:41:32,759
them really so you get a first-hand look
749
00:41:32,759 --> 00:41:35,279
at a new country and then they're
750
00:41:35,279 --> 00:41:37,680
changing so rapidly they're not going to
751
00:41:37,680 --> 00:41:40,230
be the same in another ten years so it's
752
00:41:40,230 --> 00:41:42,329
great to be here and see them as they
753
00:41:42,329 --> 00:41:47,059
are now you see so many different
754
00:41:47,059 --> 00:41:51,150
cultures people's countries ways and
755
00:41:51,150 --> 00:41:55,140
dress so I think it's evident as you go
756
00:41:55,140 --> 00:41:59,130
on this adventure that you are kind of
757
00:41:59,130 --> 00:42:02,849
charting a new path for the place 50
758
00:42:02,849 --> 00:42:04,950
years or so just hasn't in the house
759
00:42:04,950 --> 00:42:08,299
travelled all the way through here
760
00:42:10,770 --> 00:42:13,180
one of the highlights of our visit to
761
00:42:13,180 --> 00:42:15,490
the Sunday Bazaar in Turkmenistan the
762
00:42:15,490 --> 00:42:17,970
camel market
763
00:42:20,880 --> 00:42:24,639
[Music]
764
00:42:24,980 --> 00:42:27,690
for centuries camels have been the visa
765
00:42:27,690 --> 00:42:30,420
burden on the Great Silk Road they're
766
00:42:30,420 --> 00:42:32,400
still used in Turkmenistan for their
767
00:42:32,400 --> 00:42:34,860
labor food and milk and every week
768
00:42:34,860 --> 00:42:36,960
families from the surrounding region
769
00:42:36,960 --> 00:42:39,440
come here to buy and sell camels
770
00:42:39,440 --> 00:42:41,580
wheeling and dealing to get the best
771
00:42:41,580 --> 00:42:43,980
price as standard practice here just
772
00:42:43,980 --> 00:42:45,510
like any other purchase in this
773
00:42:45,510 --> 00:42:48,330
international bazaar sometimes the
774
00:42:48,330 --> 00:42:50,400
hardest part is simply getting the
775
00:42:50,400 --> 00:42:53,330
camels home
776
00:42:54,400 --> 00:42:57,479
[Music]
777
00:43:01,110 --> 00:43:04,639
[Music]
778
00:43:14,380 --> 00:43:17,439
[Music]
779
00:43:31,380 --> 00:43:34,470
being with an organized group with helgi
780
00:43:34,470 --> 00:43:38,550
as a world traveler I put a lot of trust
781
00:43:38,550 --> 00:43:40,140
in this knowledge and it certainly
782
00:43:40,140 --> 00:43:44,220
proved to be very good and when we
783
00:43:44,220 --> 00:43:45,960
eventually did get into these countries
784
00:43:45,960 --> 00:43:48,120
it was not at all what I expected these
785
00:43:48,120 --> 00:43:51,960
people again took us in with open arms
786
00:43:51,960 --> 00:43:56,820
and I'd never felt uneasy at any point
787
00:43:56,820 --> 00:43:58,940
in time
788
00:44:01,930 --> 00:44:05,760
in deciding to come on this trip I
789
00:44:05,760 --> 00:44:08,380
questioned whether or not it was a smart
790
00:44:08,380 --> 00:44:09,820
thing to do just because of where it was
791
00:44:09,820 --> 00:44:12,910
at and a lot of my friends and family
792
00:44:12,910 --> 00:44:14,430
did as well
793
00:44:14,430 --> 00:44:18,130
the fear is almost in not knowing the
794
00:44:18,130 --> 00:44:20,320
fear is almost where the fear comes from
795
00:44:20,320 --> 00:44:24,070
and it is derived from not understanding
796
00:44:24,070 --> 00:44:26,770
fully what it is and where it is that
797
00:44:26,770 --> 00:44:30,580
you're doing so um now being here and
798
00:44:30,580 --> 00:44:32,170
now it getting so close to the end I
799
00:44:32,170 --> 00:44:33,820
mean I can't imagine not coming to these
800
00:44:33,820 --> 00:44:37,360
places I can't imagine these places
801
00:44:37,360 --> 00:44:39,370
being the kind of places that would
802
00:44:39,370 --> 00:44:42,730
frighten people if anything the complete
803
00:44:42,730 --> 00:44:44,140
opposite is true I mean people have been
804
00:44:44,140 --> 00:44:46,750
cordial to a fault I've never seen more
805
00:44:46,750 --> 00:44:49,510
people laugh whether it would be more
806
00:44:49,510 --> 00:44:53,520
expressive and just wonderful
807
00:45:01,260 --> 00:45:14,040
[Music]
808
00:45:14,040 --> 00:45:17,080
our guidebook mentions the large lizards
809
00:45:17,080 --> 00:45:19,900
in the catacomb also known as desert or
810
00:45:19,900 --> 00:45:22,480
land crocodiles and we're hoping to see
811
00:45:22,480 --> 00:45:25,480
one on the road today and that's exactly
812
00:45:25,480 --> 00:45:27,760
where we found it did you see a picture
813
00:45:27,760 --> 00:45:31,210
of it in the book yeah they said it
814
00:45:31,210 --> 00:45:37,210
looked like it was real flat yeah guts
815
00:45:37,210 --> 00:45:39,720
hanging out
816
00:45:41,230 --> 00:45:51,079
[Music]
817
00:45:55,520 --> 00:45:59,850
the Silk Road adventure for me as has
818
00:45:59,850 --> 00:46:03,960
been a historic journey a cultural
819
00:46:03,960 --> 00:46:07,380
journey and a Geographic journey and and
820
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that's just been outstanding to to read
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about things to read about historic
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events back ancient events the Hittites
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Alexander the Great or to have read
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about Genghis Khan before and reread it
825
00:46:20,820 --> 00:46:23,040
again to read about Tamerlane I'm not
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mistaken we have over four four four
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thousand historical places and
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archaeological sites to look at and very
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00:46:30,720 --> 00:46:35,900
old so our our history starts with like
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00:46:35,900 --> 00:46:38,940
7,000 years of history we have so
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starting from the ancient times the
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00:46:41,780 --> 00:46:45,270
Neolithic period so then the Stone Age
833
00:46:45,270 --> 00:46:47,880
and bronze so even that time the people
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in William just inhabited this area so
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we have a long tradition long history
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[Music]
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Merve is one of the oldest ancient oasis
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cities along the Silk Road in Central
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Asia in the 12th century
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Merve was the capital of the Seljuk
841
00:47:06,660 --> 00:47:09,000
Empire which extended into Iran
842
00:47:09,000 --> 00:47:12,870
Afghanistan Syria and the Caucasus in
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00:47:12,870 --> 00:47:15,330
ancient times there was a big complex
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consisting of five cities with walls
845
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that were almost 100 feet high now in
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ruins 150,000 people lived in ancient
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00:47:26,910 --> 00:47:29,160
murder and the city boasted twelve
848
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libraries eleven madrasahs and mosques
849
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and a post office that used pigeons to
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00:47:34,020 --> 00:47:36,500
send the mail
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00:47:37,800 --> 00:47:40,300
looking out across the ruins here today
852
00:47:40,300 --> 00:47:42,790
it's difficult to imagine the scale and
853
00:47:42,790 --> 00:47:44,590
complexity of what was achieved in this
854
00:47:44,590 --> 00:47:47,950
oasis several important museums are in
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00:47:47,950 --> 00:47:49,900
the area to preserve the artifacts found
856
00:47:49,900 --> 00:47:52,330
at the site along with various aspects
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00:47:52,330 --> 00:47:55,810
of traditional culture I think it's
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important to read as you go through the
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00:47:58,420 --> 00:48:00,610
on the trip you want to go back and
860
00:48:00,610 --> 00:48:04,660
reread travels of Marco Polo you want to
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00:48:04,660 --> 00:48:07,350
read the foreign Devils on a Silk Road
862
00:48:07,350 --> 00:48:10,360
to understand some of the things that
863
00:48:10,360 --> 00:48:12,910
are that have actually gone on Central
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00:48:12,910 --> 00:48:16,570
Asia is almost the origin of many parts
865
00:48:16,570 --> 00:48:21,760
of Turkey many parts of India Iran that
866
00:48:21,760 --> 00:48:24,370
people came out of Central Asia from the
867
00:48:24,370 --> 00:48:28,870
standpoint of variety it's just more to
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see as you go through this a amazing
869
00:48:32,430 --> 00:48:37,720
Road called the Silk Road for more
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00:48:37,720 --> 00:48:39,640
information on the Silk Road adventure
871
00:48:39,640 --> 00:48:41,920
with Helga Petersen including the live
872
00:48:41,920 --> 00:48:43,900
journal for this and other globe writers
873
00:48:43,900 --> 00:48:48,300
adventures please visit our website
874
00:48:53,030 --> 00:48:58,449
[Music]
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00:49:04,970 --> 00:49:07,030
you
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